361Disclaimer: All recognizable characters and settings belong to J.K. Rowling.
This is AU and some characters will be OOC compared to canon. Protective Malfoys and Snape. Family Fluff, of course, =) I wrote a Harry is Draco's brother before (Brothers Reunited) but this one is a little different. There will be some mild corporal punishment by a parent, not a lot, but just so you're warned...Hope you enjoy it!
June, 1980
"Look at you, so smug and pleased with yourself," Snape smirked at Lucius as he surveyed the two babies in the crib next to Lucius's and Narcissa's bed. Narcissa lay against the pillows, looking tired yet incredibly happy.
"Why wouldn't I be? I'm a father to the two most beautiful boys in the world," Lucius said with a grin as he looked at his twin boys. They were fraternal twins and he was overjoyed to be a father.
"Of course, I had nothing to do with it," Narcissa quipped as she leaned over and picked up one of the babies. Lucius picked up the other twin and cradled him in his arms. "We are glad you finally were able to visit, Severus."
"I didn't want to intrude," Snape admitted. "You two have recently become parents, I thought you would need some time alone with your babies."
"We appreciate that but you are always welcome here," Lucius said. "And we have been eager for you to meet our sons."
"Have you decided on their names?" Snape asked.
"Yes. As he is technically the oldest, by three minutes, this is Draco Lucius Malfoy," Lucius said proudly. It was tradition that the firstborn son had his father's name as his middle name.
Narcissa grinned and held out the baby she was holding, putting him into Snape's arms.
"Wait -" Snape said in alarm. He had never held a baby before.
"You'll be fine. Support his head, yes just like that," Narcissa urged, smiling as Snape took the baby.
"Well then," Snape said softly, a small smile forming as he looked at the little face. "What is this one's name?"
"Hadrian Severus Malfoy," Lucius said.
Snape snapped his gaze up. "What?"
"You are my best friend, Severus. I consider you my brother, you know that," Lucius told him sincerely. "We wanted to honor you with his name."
"And ask you to be their godfather," Narcissa added.
Snape swallowed thickly. Lucius and Narcissa were the closest thing he had to family and he didn't take it for granted. "I would be extremely honored." He managed to say. "They are the most precious things in the world." He said as he cuddled Hadrian.
"It's a good thing they aren't identical, they would probably switch places on us all the time," Lucius remarked.
Narcissa laughed. "True. It's obvious Draco will greatly resemble Lucius."
"You can't tell that yet," Snape protested with a laugh. "They are still newborns, their appearance will change as they get older."
"I'm their mother, I can tell already," Narcissa said smugly.
"Hadrian's hair will likely be darker, his eyes more blue than gray," Lucius said thoughtfully as he gazed at the babies.
"Dark hair does run in my family," Narcissa acknowledged.
Snape chuckled. "So Hadrian has your hair."
"I'm blonde," Narcissa protested.
"Yes, but you color it -" Snape stopped at the frantic shake of Lucius's head.
Narcissa gave her husband a cool look. "You, my love, have a big mouth." She said silkily.
"He did not mean to," Snape quickly assured her. "He had imbibed in too much Firewhisky and -"
"Thank you, Severus. You can stop helping me now," Lucius said dryly.
"Your father and godfather are very silly," Narcissa told her boys. They both gurgled in agreement.
/
A few weeks later, the house-elves were busy preparing for the party the Malfoys were throwing to welcome their babies to the world.
"I worry about having this party," Narcissa said as she surveyed the ballroom being cleaned. "I don't want the death eaters around our babies."
"I don't either," Lucius said in frustration. "Trust your insane sister to plan a party at our house." Bellatrix was a complete lunatic, everyone knew it.
"She's always envied this house," Narcissa said with a sniff. "You know Bellatrix wanted you to marry her." She reminded him.
Lucius shivered. "Now that would have been a nightmare. Thankfully, I settled for you." He teased, starting to laugh, and then let out a loud, "Oof!" when Narcissa slugged his arm.
"Funny, Lucius," Narcissa tossed her hair over her shoulder.
Lucius chuckled and pulled her in for a kiss. "I've only ever loved you. You're all I've ever wanted. You and our boys."
"I know this party is to celebrate their birth but I don't want them around our quests for too long," Narcissa said.
"We'll bring them out for a few minutes and then take them back to the nursery," Lucius assured her. "These particular guests don't really care about our sons, they are here for the food and alcohol," he said wryly.
"True," Narcissa relaxed.
"Our house-elves will keep an eye on the babies. And Severus will be here."
"We should never have joined the dark lord," Narcissa said unhappily. It was a mistake they both deeply regretted, Severus too.
"I know," Lucius sighed. They had believed all the dark lord's lies and now they were in a situation they couldn't really get out of. "Severus agrees. He mentioned maybe going to Albus Dumbledore for help."
"He does seem to be the only wizard the dark lord fears," Narcissa said thoughtfully. "Maybe he can think of something to help us."
"We'll talk to him," Lucius assured her.
"You don't think he will come here tonight? The dark lord?" Narcissa asked anxiously.
"No, he wouldn't care about seeing our sons," Lucius shook his head. "The dark lord cares only for himself."
July 1980
The party was in full swing when Tipsey heard the commotion that the dark lord had indeed made an appearance at the party. The house elves were terrified of him and tried to keep their distance.
"Dobby has to serve him his drink," Dobby fretted, wringing his hands together nervously.
"Yous will be fine," Tipsey assured him as she poured wine into a goblet. "Go on, get it over with." She handed him the goblet and he reluctantly left. She picked up a tray of hors d'oeuvre and carried the tray out of the kitchen, almost dropping the tray when the dark lord appeared in front of her.
"I hear you are the main caretaker of the twins," Voldemort said silkily.
"Yes Master," Tipsey said nervously. "They are good babies."
"Hmm." Voldemort twirled his wand. "I prefer my followers to only have one child if they feel they must have one at all." He said casually. "It is what is proper, after all. To preserve their wealth and status." Wealth he might need someday. It would not due to have his followers have a brood of children who will just squander it all away. And the Malfoy's fortune was quite vast. He needed to control his death eaters in every way. He also wanted their focus on him, not on their children. He gazed at the house elf. "Kill one of them." He said in a casual voice.
"Wh-what?" Tipsey gasped.
"Did you not hear me?" Voldemort hissed. "Kill one of them. I do not care which one."
"Tipsey can not harm her family!" Tipsey protested.
Voldemort put a silencing bubble around them. "Crucio!" He then cast. He watched with a sick smile as Tipsey screamed in pain. He released the curse. "Just take one of the babies and leave them somewhere they won't survive. That shouldn't hurt your bond to the Malfoy family."
"B-but -"
"Lucius and Narcissa would want you to obey me," Voldemort said in a dark voice. "They are your masters and I am theirs. You will obey me or I will kill all of them. I will kill them slowly and painfully. Your choice."
"Yes, I understand," Tipsey said reluctantly. She had no choice but to agree. "I will do as the dark lord asks."
"Very good," Voldemort said in satisfaction. "Now I must go and congratulate Lucius and Narcissa on their beautiful babies." He smirked and sauntered away.
July 31st, 1980
Tipsey waited a couple of days after the party and late at night, when everyone was asleep she held baby Hadrian tightly as she apparated them away from Malfoy Manor. She could not harm him, no matter what the dark lord had asked. It was bad enough to take him from his family, she could not hurt him as well. She had heard whispers of a family that wanted a baby, that could not have one of their own. She apparated to the Potter's home and placed Hadrian in a basket on their doorstep. She had studied them the last couple of days and they seemed kind. With a deep breath, she began to glamour Hadrian to resemble them. His hair became darker, his skin more of a tanned color, and his eyes to emerald green. After charming his appearance she placed a note on the basket and covered him with blankets. "Tipsey is sorry, Hadrian." She whispered. "The Potters will take good care of you. Tipsey wrote in the letter to call you Harry, which is close to your real name." She gazed at him sadly before knocking on the door and then apparating away.
/
When Narcissa woke up she went to the nursery to check on Draco and Hadrian, as she usually did.
"Good morning, my loves," Narcissa said as she entered. She smiled at Draco, who was yawning and blinking his eyes open, and then turned to the other crib. She froze. "Hadrian?" She looked around the room in alarm. "Hadrian, where are you?" Terror filled her. "Tipsey!"
"Mistress?" Tipsey popped into the room.
"Where is Hadrian?" Narcissa demanded.
"Master Hadrian should be in his crib," Tipsey lied with wide eyes.
"Well, he isn't!" Narcissa snapped. "Lucius!" She yelled. "Lucius, hurry!"
"What is it?" Lucius asked as he rushed into the nursery.
"Hadrian is missing!" Narcissa cried, collapsing into her husband's arms.
"He can't be missing," Lucius said in disbelief as he held her close. "There are wards on this house. He must be somewhere. Get all the house elves looking. Immediately!" Lucius ordered Tipsey.
Narcissa and Lucius also searched, looking under every piece of furniture and even going outside. No sign of the baby was anywhere. No wards had been broken, it didn't make any sense.
"Tipsey, Dobby, and the other house-elves have searched the manor, Master Hadrian is not here," Dobby announced sorrowfully. "We's looked outside too."
Narcissa leaned into Lucius, Draco in her arms. "Where is he? Where is Hadrian?" She whimpered. She wanted her baby. Draco began to wail as if his heart was broken as well.
"I've sent a message to Severus, he will help us look. We'll contact the Aurors as well. We will find him and whoever took him will suffer." Lucius said darkly. Whoever had their son would pay dearly for daring to take him.
Tipsey averted her eyes.
/
Narcissa was sitting slumped on the sofa, clutching Draco tightly in her arms. She looked up when Lucius and Severus flooed through. "Anything?" She asked hopefully. It had been two days since Hadrian had disappeared.
"No," Lucius said, rubbing a hand over his face. "Hadrian is nowhere to be found."
"I don't understand how this happened," Narcissa said, grief filling her. "How could he just disappear? With all the wards we have?" How could someone have entered their home without them knowing? The house elves had all been questioned even though Lucius and Narcissa didn't suspect any of them. Their house-elves were loyal to them, magically bound to them. No, someone had to have come into their home and taken Hadrian.
"We've talked to everyone who was at the party," Snape said. "Everyone says they didn't see anything suspicious."
"Well, one of them is lying! It had to be someone at the party who took Hadrian. It's too much of a coincidence that he disappeared just a few days after the party. What about my sister? She would love to torture us for kicks by stealing our son." Narcissa hissed.
"She was insistent that she had no idea what happened to him. Severus discreetly used Legilimency on her, she doesn't know anything." Lucius's voice was ragged with grief. "Why would anyone take our son?"
"Jealousy? Maybe they wanted a child of their own," Snape suggested tiredly. He, along with Lucius and Narcissa, had barely slept since Hadrian had disappeared.
"Or jealousy that we are such a wealthy, influential family," Lucius said darkly. "Perhaps someone wanted to hurt us by taking our son."
"Maybe they want money," Snape said. "You could receive a ransom note for Hadrian."
"I hope so. I would pay it, I would pay anything," Lucius shut his eyes.
"I want our baby back, Lucius," Narcissa whispered as she rocked a fussing Draco.
"I know, my dear," Lucius sat next to her, putting his arm around her. "He still won't settle down?"
"No. He's been like this since we discovered Hadrian missing," Narcissa said softly. "He misses his brother."
"Hopefully they will be reunited very soon," Lucius said. "The Aurors are aware of the kidnapping and are searching for Hadrian. We will continue our own search as well. And whoever took him, will pay dearly."
Severus hated feeling so helpless, hated that he couldn't do anything to help the people who mattered most to him. His godson was out there somewhere and Severus would do anything to get him back.
"Tipsey, take Draco to his nursery and stay with him until he falls asleep," Lucius said after a moment.
"No, I don't want to let him go." Narcissa protested as Tipsey popped into the room.
"None of us have eaten since this morning," Lucius said tiredly. "There is nothing more we can do except wait for word from the Aurors. We need to keep up our strength. For Hadrian."
Narcissa nodded reluctantly and slowly put Draco into Tipsey's arms.
"I'll check on him in a bit," Narcissa said, looking at son lovingly. "I don't want to let him out of my sight," she admitted.
"He will be safe with Tipsey and you need to eat," Lucius insisted.
"Master Draco will be safe with Tipsey," Tipsey said softly and popped away to the nursery. She laid Draco in his crib. "Shh, Master Draco." She said softly. "Tipsey is so sorry, so very sorry. Tipsey made sure Master Hadrian will be safe," she whispered. "Tipsey did what she had to do to protect her family." Tears filled her eyes. "Oh, Tipsey wished she hadn't had to! But the dark lord, he is too evil and too powerful to go up against."
Draco continued his soft crying.
"Shh, Master Draco," Tipsey gently rubbed his tummy. "Tipsey knows you miss your brother. Tipsey misses him too but he is safe, with people who will love him." She began to sing a lullaby, hoping to soothe the baby to sleep. The guilt of what she had done weighed on her and she hoped if the Malfoy family ever found out what she did, they would be able to forgive her.
November, 1981
"So the dark lord is gone? For good?" Narcissa asked hopefully, glancing at her left arm where her dark mark was.
Tipsey looked up from where she was dusting with interest.
"That is what the ministry is saying," Lucius confirmed. "And our marks have faded to practically nothing."
"The Potter boy survived, with just a cut on his forehead," Snape said wearily. He hadn't liked James Potter at all but he had cared very much for Lily. They had been friends once.
"I don't know how the child survived but I'm glad he did," Narcissa said. "Is he safe? Does he have relatives to care for him?" Her heart went out to the poor child. She missed her own child so much and she hoped wherever he was, he was safe. There had been no word, no sign of Hadrian since his disappearance. She and Lucius thought of him every day, their hearts feeling the emptiness without their boy. And Draco, he still would fuss for seemingly no reason. She was convinced it was because he felt the loss of his brother. They all felt the loss.
"He is with his aunt and uncle, Albus assures me he will be protected there," Snape said.
Tipsey, eager to finally tell the truth, took a step forward. "Tipsey needs to -"
"Does Albus really think he is gone?" Lucius asked, not hearing Tipsey.
Snape shook his head. "Albus said he hopes so but he feels that no, the dark lord still exists somewhere, in some form. He believes he could come back someday and wants me to help protect the Potter boy once he starts Hogwarts."
Tipsey froze. The dark lord wasn't dead after all?
"Tipsey, what were you saying?" Narcissa asked after a moment.
"Tipsey just wondered if yous would like some coffee," Tipsey said. She couldn't tell them Hadrian was really the Potter child. Not if the dark lord was still alive! She had to hope the relatives took good care of Hadrian, that he would be safe. She would try to keep an eye out for him, but she would have to be careful. Oh, if only the dark lord had died for good! Then she could tell her family the truth! But she would have to wait. Wait and hope that someday Hadrian could come home.
TBC: